Job opportunities for youth living in rural Nova Scotia

WINDSOR, NS – The MetroWorks Employment Association will once again organize employability skills workshops, safety training courses, guest speakers, job site tours, one-on-one support services and work placements for up to 48 local youth. A special opportunity to gain one week of technical skills training at Carpenter Millwright College will also be offered to interested applicants. All participants will obtain positions in hospitality, customer service, trades, construction or agricultural industries tied to organic farming. One main goal is to provide opportunities for the youth to find good jobs in smaller communities in their home province.

“MetroWorks Employment Association has been looked to as a pioneer in workforce development dating back to 1977. Its blended programming takes unskilled and entry level workers and develops them into skilled employees at no extra cost to the employer. The investment by the federal government in the YouthWorks program will help to develop essential employability skills of youth living in the communities of Hants West, Musquodoboit Valley and Stewiacke, with a focus on helping them achieve their employment goals while remaining in rural Nova Scotia communities,” said Dave Rideout, president and CEO, MetroWorks Employment Association.

The Government of Canada will provide approximately $690,000 in funding for this project through the Skills Link program of the Government’s Youth Employment Strategy. Skills Link supports projects that help young people who face more barriers to employment than others develop basic employability skills and gain valuable job experience, which assists them in making a successful transition into the labour market or returning to school. These could include youth who have not completed high school, single parents, Indigenous youth, young people with disabilities, youth living in rural or remote areas and newcomers.

MetroWorks received funding for Skills Link projects over the past six years and has successfully helped disadvantaged individuals and those facing barriers to employment get a job or return to school.

“We know that our communities are healthier and stronger when everyone can fully participate. Supporting youth as they transition into the workforce is a key way in which we can grow our economy and strengthen the middle class,” said Patty Hajdu, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour.

Quick Facts

Skills Link is one of three program streams under the Government’s Youth Employment Strategy (YES). Each year, the Government invests more than $330 million in YES to help support young Canadians between the ages of 15 and 30 to get the information, skills, job experience and abilities they need to make a successful transition to the workplace.

Budget 2017 will invest an additional $395.5 million over three years for YES, starting in 2017–18.

Since 2005, YES programs delivered by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) have helped over 582,000 youth develop skills and gain work experience to find a job or return to school. ESDC’s Skills Link program has helped over 141,000 youth since 2005.